Pension credits behind. Can't afford glasses/ dentist

[JustBeGoodToMeToMe]

So my ESA stopped a month ago when l turned 66. I will receive my first pension payment 20th December ( it's paid in arrears) ..so that's 6 weeks without any payment. I applied for pension credits at the same time. I am entitled to these but they are five months behind awarding and paying.
I need my award letter for the opticians and dentist .
My glasses have broke and my eye sight has changed but the optician needs to see my award letter for my vouchers so l can get free glasses.
I've rung and rung pension credits.. telling them this .. ( I'm wearing old glasses stuck together with super glue and they won't fold and really need newer lenses) . But all they will say it's being processed and they are behind.

Do you not have a friend to help you out or can’t your daughter help?

I posted asking about the Daughter as well. OP is selective in whose questions she wants to answer, which is fair enough, but people will wonder.

If I understand correctly though the issue is that you have APPLIED for pension credit not that you've been AWARDED pension credit (due to the backlog in your view but the dentist/opticians can't take your word for you entitlement because as things stand you haven't been awarded it.) If this is the case you need to complete the HC1 form asap using your current circumstances. Not what you think you are entitled to or what might be backdated in the future but what you are actually getting and have actually been assessed for. The turnaround, as far as I'm aware, is significantly shorter than the pension credit backlog and will assess your current financial situation and ability to pay today. If appropriate they will provide you with an award letter entitling you to free prescriptions/glasses irrespective of pension credit and probably much sooner.

OP I am an optician and when I issue the glasses voucher (GOS3 is the official name) there is a box for me to tick to say 'evidence not seen'

If my patients happen to bring evidence to their appointment, great, but 85% don't so I issue the voucher in good faith

The issue with that is if the local health board happens to randomly pick your voucher to audit, and they do this before your award is through, you will be asked to pay the voucher value back plus a fine. It's a very small chance but I have definitely seen this happen before

If you have applied for PC and it's awarded you will get back payment. Can you borrow some money to get glasses sorted now and pay back once you get back payment of PC? I know you'll be paying for the glasses but you should put your sight above that. You can get cheap up to +5 new reading glasses for £3 a pair on eBay. I used them for reading. They are fine.

the NHS voucher only covers a certain amount, doesn't it.

Any extras on the glasses have to be paid for by you.

The trouble is that you’ve applied for pension credit but as it’s not been assessed yet you haven’t been awarded it.

The optician really can’t just take your word for it that you will be awarded it can they? Anyone could claim that their entitled to things that they’re not (not saying this is what you’re doing @JustBeGoodToMeToMe )

It’s tough but can you pay for a cheap pair on a credit card or ask if they use Klana to spread the cost?

@RosesAndHellebores my Asda optician has a charity box beside the till. I expect most are the same.

Can I just ask about the timeline. ESA stopped a month ago, 1st Nov? what date exactly?
And you aren't being paid pension till 20th Dec.
What are they expecting you to live off the 7+ weeks in between?
Seems so wrong.

Have you phoned or chased your award letter. I would. The fact you phoned will be listed on the account. Ask for it to be expedited and reviewed. Can't do any harm.

The cost of glasses always worries me. I have a complex prescription with astigmatism and need varifocals. If it weren't for thinning I would have milk bottle bottoms. My specs, not ott, although I buy the glasses I want because they go on my face for about 1000 days, are usually north of £700. Last time my prescription changed after two years and I needed to upgrade because I sit in front of three screens

It has always worried me how people manage. Without my specs I literally would not be safe to cross the road and could not function. -7.50 diopters. Help doesn't click in until -10 but I am literally almost as blind as a bat. My DC have said "God mum, she's a diopter off a dog" no offence meant.

One of my DC was -11 in each eye with astigmatism (seemed to inherit a double dose of my poor eyesight). He was eligible for the maximum help available which when he was a child - this was a small voucher which didn't even cover one lens of cheapest lenses the optician would prescribe for that level of sight (due to very thick and heavy lenses not sitting on a child's face reliably).

At this level of short sight a second pair was an essential visual aid and not a luxury. The only frames we could find which would survive an active child were Flexons - we ended up paying for 2* Flexon frames and two sets of very expensive lenses. Children typically need new prescriptions and frames every year or two when they are growing, even if you keep the old pair as the "seconds' it gets very expensive.

I have no idea how low income families with complex prescriptions manage the cost if the only help available is the NHS vouchers.

No, you complete the HC1 form based on your actual income at the moment, i.e. your basic state pension, so don't factor in the Guaranteed Pension Credit at all. However, as I said before, it does depend on how long it takes to process the claim. Suggest you borrow the money for your glasses, or use a credit card, and then you can claim it back via the HC1 form.

Thankyou.
I didn't ask for a resolution.. but more to to let other people know who might have just turned a pensioner or about to become one..
( okay then a little moan).. it's not on.. already most of us have no winter fuel allowance.. l have gone from ESA to pension. ESA cuts you off on your 66th birthday.. pension is 4 weeks in arrears.. so that's 3 weeks with no money.. even if you have it paid weekly..it's also £80 per week less than Pension if you got the disability element.. so for three week we have no money and £80 a week less.. yet our out goings are still the same.. l checked all this before crossing over.. and no where does it tell you any of this.
So to go without glasses and dental care for five months just adds fuel to the fire.. plus struggling to pay energy bills.. ( £80 would cover it).

That's the whole point.. you can't claim it back..
You have to have the form when you have your test and order the glasses..

Yes people can lend me the money.. but like I've said and others have said
. I'd have to find a way to pay it back.. when l can get glasses for free...

Won't post it.. until I've been awarded it.. and my start payment date.

I have answered..
How will l pay it back? I'd still have to find the money.. when l get them for free.

I was under the impression you had been awarded it and were just waiting for the money. I have given you several suggestions for getting emergency cash but you said you're just here to vent.

I won't give any more suggestions but I hope you feel better for having vented. I wish you all the best.

I have been awarded pension credits of £81 per week. But they are 5 months behind processing the letters and money.
They will not send or email me an award letter until they have sent the award to my bank.

I take it you were not claiming PIP before turning pension age? Given your health, sight and mobility issues you could consider claiming Attendance Allowance to further boost your income. Your local Citizens Advice can help you with this

No stopped November 20th .. l had one weeks pay.
When it happened to my sister a few years ago ..there wasn't any delay.. straight from one to another benefit.

Yes, you can claim it back via the HC1 form, but I must admit it is a very grey area because technically you should be in receipt of Guaranteed Pension Credit. You can always ring up the HC1 people and ask for their advice. Here is the relevant information which I have copied and pasted from the HC1 form:

You can normally claim money back if you have already paid for something. We must receive refund claims within three months of the date you paid. If you make a claim after three months, we have to decide if there is good reason for it being late before we accept it. Please send an explanation with your claim if it is made after three months. Our calculation is based on your circumstances at the time you paid. Tell us at part 9 if your circumstances were different when you paid. To claim a refund for: • NHS dental treatment; • glasses or contact lenses; or • NHS travel costs if referred by a doctor (GP or hospital doctor) or dentist; you will need: • a receipt which shows what you have paid for; and • the appropriate refund claim form HC5 for the charge you paid (it tells you what to do); and • your optical prescription, if you are claiming back money you have paid for glasses or contact lenses. If you need form HC5 You can usually get form HC5 from a Jobcentre Plus office and NHS hospitals or you can phone 0131 275 6386, Monday to Friday between 9 am and 5 pm and we will send you one. People getting Income Support, Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit with earnings within the allowed limit or named on or entitled to an NHS Tax Credit Exemption Certificate. If you now get one of the above benefits or tax credits, but want to claim money back for something you paid for before you were getting any of these benefit or tax credits, use this form to tell us about your circumstances on the date you paid. Mark the front of the claim form ‘Refund only’ and tell us in part 9 which benefit or tax credit you get.

@JustBeGoodToMeToMe

So that’s fine then. You have been awarded it so you are in receipt of it. You go to the optician, get them to issue a voucher and tick the box to say evidence not seen. Not an issue as you know you have been awarded it. You get you glasses under the voucher. If the nhs check then they can see from their systems that you are in receipt of pension credit guarantee.
I work in an opticians and this is absolutely how it works and should not be a problem at all.

Could you contact your council. They might have a household support fund that will be able to help you